Brandeis is a medium-sized research university that ranks among the best large research universities in America, but with a community that feels more like a liberal arts college. Established in 1948 by the American Jewish community to welcome people of all backgrounds and faiths, the founding values that undergird Brandeis are rooted in Jewish history and experience. Located in Waltham, Massachusetts, within screaming distance of Boston, Brandeis is home to 3,591 undergraduate students. The acceptance rate is 39%.
Students at Brandeis love that they can engage in graduate-level research while having a level of access to their professors that is normally reserved for small schools. To find students who will best take advantage of this opportunity, Brandeis looks for students who are enterprising, and who will take them up on everything the university has to offer. They want top-notch academics, yes (the average GPA of accepted students is 3.84), but also passion-driven extracurriculars and a really well-defined sense of self. The university is also test-optional, which means you can submit your SAT or ACT scores for consideration, but you don’t have to.
If you love the idea of a research university with liberal arts vibes, send us an email. We’re experts at helping students get into their best-fit colleges.
The Brandeis supplement has only one main question, with an additional one for international students (the second question below, as noted on the prompt).
Brandeis was established 75 years ago to address antisemitism, racism, and gender discrimination in higher education, and today, the university remains dedicated to its founding values of inclusivity and justice. How has your educational experience shaped your perspective on these values? (250 words max.)
We love this question, but it’s important to set some ground rules from the beginning. Stories of challenges are fair game as set forth by the first sentence of the prompt, which focuses on antisemitism, racism, and gender discrimination, but this isn’t a competition for who has faced the most hardship. If you try to build your answer to this supplement on a sob story, it’s not going to work out in your favor. It's not that Brandeis is callous and doesn’t care, but they want to see who you are, not simply what bad things have happened to you. Listing hardships doesn’t tell them much, if anything, about you.
Instead, start at the end. Take some time, maybe 20 or 30 minutes, to interrogate what your perspective on inclusivity and justice is before you begin writing. What do you care about related to these ideals? How have they come into play in your life? Have you ever felt like your inclusion has been challenged or at risk, or a sense of injustice? When, and why?
Once you have a few thoughts written down on what you care about related to inclusivity and justice, begin to work backwards from those ideas and experiences to reveal how you arrived at your current set of beliefs. Maybe what led you to where you are now was a teacher, a program, or a particular class you took. Maybe it was a challenge you faced that put you on the receiving end of discrimination — but, as we hope we’ve made clear — that isn’t the only route to answering this question and often isn’t the best one. Or maybe it is a time that you saw discrimination of some form in play in the world and didn’t feel like you could help in that moment. What did you do next?
Answer this prompt by telling a story that shows you wrestling with, discovering, or having to stick up for the values of inclusivity and justice that Brandeis holds so dear. Put the reader in the moment with you, and tell a story.
For International Students Only:
What excites you the most about being an international student at Brandeis University? (250 words max.)
Brandeis is a school that prioritizes a global experience and perspective, but they don’t rely solely on study abroad programs to deliver it. They bring the diversity of the planet to Waltham, Massachusetts, and 20% of the Brandeis student body is made up of international students from 58 different countries. The university highly values the international community on campus, and what they can uniquely bring to and gain from the Brandeis experience.
As you approach this prompt, ask yourself: why am I applying to Brandeis in particular, not simply because it is in the United States?
To best write this supplement, you’ll need to tell a story that illustrates the why of this, and that gives specific reasons you want to be at Brandeis. Include what you want to study, and why you can study it best at Brandeis, in your response. You should also look to the future: what do you want to do in life, and how is Brandeis uniquely positioned to help you get there? Be as specific as you can be.
Brandeis is a global community on a campus that prioritizes service and togetherness through a world-class educational and residential program. Founded in the ideals of equity and justice, Brandeis is welcoming, encouraging, and challenging in equal measures.
If Brandeis sounds like your dream school, send us an email. We help amazing students get into equally amazing universities.